From DE 100 39 522 A1, a generic vehicle roof module is known having a transparent roof membrane and a roller blind apparatus arranged under the roof membrane. A frame-type inner shell of the roof module is formed of a foam material embedding and attached to the underside of the roof membrane. A rear frame component of the inner shell features a lower frame element flatly extending forward from a connecting bridge with the foam and delineating a cavity toward the roof membrane, in which a winding shaft of the roller blind apparatus is pivoted on the lower frame element by means of bearing blocks on both sides. A roller blind track is wound on a winding shaft such that it unwinds from the underside of the winding shaft when the roller blind track is pulled forward under the roof membrane. The roller blind track slides with the exposed underside facing the interior of the vehicle over a drain edge-forming ridge on the front edge of the lower frame element. A problem here is the mounting of the winding shaft on the bearing blocks of the lower frame element, since for this only a gap between the ridge and the roof membrane is available that must be accordingly wide. The foam material embedding of the lower frame element is malleable to a certain extent, so that the lower frame element can be bent downward for the mounting of the winding shaft. On the other hand, this malleability may complicate a stable stationary bearing of the winding shaft and the stable positioning of the ridge forming the drain edge. Furthermore, the sliding of the roller blind track on its exposed underside may cause an impairment on the surface of the roller blind track at the ridge, for instance when contamination on the ridge is transferred to the surface of the roller blind track.
The task underlying the invention is to create a vehicle roof module as mentioned above, featuring an improved roller blind apparatus.
In the vehicle roof module mentioned above, this task is solved according to the invention in that a foaming material applied on or around the roof element contains a drain edge body comprising the drain edge.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims.
In the vehicle roof module according to the invention, the drain edge is therefore a part of the roof element, and is attached with it as a single unit to the roof module. Consequently, no special fixation device or anything similar is required for mounting the drain edge or a component supporting the drain edge.
The roof element may be, for instance, a fixed glass element or an FTM (fixed transparent module), and specifically, a glass cover or a plastic cover made out of a transparent or translucent plastic material such as PC or PMMA. The roof element features a foam material embedding which is attached at least to the underside of the roof element in proximity to the edge of the roof element or the cover, and which features, for instance, a reinforcement frame or a mount for a seal, or which also surrounds the edge of the roof element by means of an edge protector.
This form of foam material attachment, which may be executed circumferentially around the edge of the roof element, is formed with an extension in the area of the winding shaft of the roller blind apparatus which constitutes a drain edge body containing the drain edge. The drain edge is therefore arranged stable in form and stable in its position relative to the roof element and to the winding shaft. Since the drain edge, or respectively, the drain edge body, is created with the production of the foam material embedding, no additional or subsequent mounting process is required. The length of the drain edge body in the direction transverse to that of the roof module or of the roof element, respectively, essentially corresponds with the width of the roller blind track or with the length of the winding shaft.
Expediently, the drain edge body extends downward from the roof element in the form of a bar or of a bridge, but it is not limited to such a form. In particular, the bridge-shaped drain edge body extends downward directly from the underside of the roof element.